1970s Baby Names

25,022 names were given to children in the United States between 1970 and 1979, ranked below by how many.

A name's place is its total across those ten years. Names that appear in only some of the decade say so, because a name recorded once is a different fact from one recorded every year.

All Girls Boys Unisex

Rankings for

#1
Michael Michael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "who is like God?" — a rhetorical question expecting the answer that no one is.
712,402 in the 1970s
#2
Jennifer Jennifer is a girl's name, the Cornish form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar, the name of King Arthur's queen.
583,649 in the 1970s
#3
Christopher Christopher is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "bearer of Christ," from Christos and pherein, to carry.
478,191 in the 1970s
#4
Jason Jason is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "healer."
465,183 in the 1970s
#5
David David is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "beloved," from Dawid.
448,198 in the 1970s
#6
James James is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, an English form of Jacob by way of Late Latin Iacomus.
447,543 in the 1970s
#7
John John is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is gracious," from Yochanan.
405,005 in the 1970s
#8
Robert Robert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," from hrod, fame, and beraht, bright.
399,853 in the 1970s
#9
Brian Brian is a boy's name of Irish origin whose meaning is unsettled — noble and high are both proposed, and neither is secure.
324,243 in the 1970s
#10
William William is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "resolute protection," from wil, meaning will or desire, and helm, meaning helmet.
285,259 in the 1970s
#11
Matthew Matthew is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of Yahweh," from Mattityahu.
278,959 in the 1970s
#12
Amy Amy is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "beloved," and unusually the name is a past participle — someone who has been loved rather than someone lovable.
269,765 in the 1970s
#13
Melissa Melissa is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "bee," and it was the title of the priestesses who served Demeter.
254,161 in the 1970s
#14
Michelle Michelle is a girl's name, the French feminine of Michel, from a Hebrew question meaning who is like God.
250,202 in the 1970s
#15
Joseph Joseph is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will add," from Yosef.
246,336 in the 1970s
#16
Daniel Daniel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my judge," from Daniyyel.
246,007 in the 1970s
#17
Kimberly Kimberly is a girl's name that reached America by way of a South African diamond town, which was itself named after a British colonial secretary.
229,955 in the 1970s
#18
Lisa Lisa is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," a short form of Elisabeth that became a name in its own right.
229,494 in the 1970s
#19
Angela Angela is a girl's name from the Greek for messenger, the word that also gives us angel.
226,033 in the 1970s
#20
Kevin Kevin is a boy's name of Irish origin meaning "gentle birth," and its saint founded Glendalough and by tradition lived to 120.
213,465 in the 1970s
#21
Eric Eric is a boy's name of Old Norse origin meaning "eternal ruler" or "sole ruler."
212,825 in the 1970s
#22
Heather Heather is a girl's name taken directly from the flowering shrub that covers Scottish and northern English moorland.
204,534 in the 1970s
#23
Richard Richard is a boy's name from Germanic roots meaning strong or brave ruler.
204,081 in the 1970s
#24
Jeffrey Jeffrey is a boy's name from Germanic roots whose first element is disputed, though the second means peace.
203,818 in the 1970s
#25
Scott Scott is a boy's name meaning a Scot, from the surname given to people from Scotland.
195,404 in the 1970s
#26
Mark Mark is a boy's name of Latin origin, most likely meaning "of Mars," borne by the evangelist who wrote the earliest gospel.
195,227 in the 1970s
#27
Steven Steven is a boy's name from the Greek for crown or garland, and the phonetic respelling of Stephen.
189,169 in the 1970s
#28
Thomas Thomas is a boy's name of Aramaic origin meaning "twin," from te'oma.
187,856 in the 1970s
#29
Timothy Timothy is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "honoring God."
182,362 in the 1970s
#30
Anthony Anthony is a boy's name from the Roman family name Antonius, whose meaning is unknown — it is probably Etruscan rather than Latin.
176,284 in the 1970s
#31
Charles Charles is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "free man," from karl.
164,227 in the 1970s
#32
Stephanie Stephanie is a girl's name from the Greek for crown or garland, the feminine of Stephen.
161,091 in the 1970s
#33
Kelly Kelly is a name from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, borne almost entirely by men for most of its history and now 86 percent female on record.
150,866 in the 1970s
#34
Nicole Nicole is a girl's name, the French feminine of Nicholas, meaning victory of the people.
145,304 in the 1970s
#35
Jessica Jessica is a girl's name invented by Shakespeare for The Merchant of Venice in 1596.
144,020 in the 1970s
#36
Elizabeth Elizabeth is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is my oath," from Elisheva, the name of Aaron's wife in the Book of Exodus.
143,473 in the 1970s
#37
Ryan Ryan is a boy's name of Irish origin, anglicized from Ó Riain.
141,771 in the 1970s
#38
Joshua Joshua is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh is salvation," from Yehoshua.
141,119 in the 1970s
#39
Jeremy Jeremy is a boy's name, the medieval English form of Jeremiah, from a Hebrew name generally read as God will exalt.
140,156 in the 1970s
#40
Shannon Shannon is a name from Ireland's longest river, and it is 86 percent female on record.
138,442 in the 1970s
#41
Rebecca Rebecca is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning is unsettled, and the standard gloss involves a rope for tying cattle.
137,818 in the 1970s
#42
Paul Paul is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "small" or "humble," borne by the apostle whose letters shaped Christian doctrine.
137,205 in the 1970s
#43
Andrew Andrew is a boy's name of Greek origin meaning "manly" or "brave," from andreios, from aner, a man.
133,592 in the 1970s
#44
Mary Mary is a girl's name of Hebrew origin whose meaning has never been settled.
126,934 in the 1970s
#45
Christina Christina is a girl's name from the Latin for a follower of Christ, and the fullest of the family that includes Christine and Kristina.
126,254 in the 1970s
#46
Amanda Amanda is a girl's name from the Latin for she who must be loved, and one of the few names on this site that can be dated to a specific literary invention — Colley Cibber used it for a character in his 1696 play Love's Last Shift.
124,362 in the 1970s
#47
Julie Julie is a girl's name, the French form of Julia, from a Roman family name of uncertain origin.
122,394 in the 1970s
#48
Sarah Sarah is a girl's name of Hebrew origin meaning "princess" or "noblewoman."
119,261 in the 1970s

What Made a 1970s Name

Children in the United States were registered with it between 1970 and 1979. A name's position here is how many of them were.

Why Some Names Only Cover Part of the Decade

A name that appears in three of the ten years either arrived partway through or faded out — and either is more interesting than the total on its own. The statistics offices do not publish names given to very few children in a year, so a gap can also mean the count dropped below the threshold rather than to nothing.

Where to Go Next

Open any name to see its full curve — most of these have a hundred and forty years of it. Or compare the ends of the same measurement: the most popular names now and the rarest.